Catholic Priest Embezzled $1M from NYC Churches, Paid It to Bodybuilder ‘Master’ for Sex: Lawsuit

From: Towleroad

A new lawsuit accuses Reverend Peter Miqueli, a priest in the Bronx, NYC, of embezzling more than $1 million from his churches (St. Frances de Chantal Church in Throgs Neck, where Miqueli remains the pastor, and from his old church, St. Francis Cabrini) over the past 10 years and using it toward sex sessions with his bodybuilder “master”, the New York Daily News reports:

The Rev. Peter Miqueli reportedly paid $1,000 per rough sex session with his hunky lover, who demanded the priest address him as “Master” — and drink his urine, the lawsuit said. The sex-slave priest and his boy toy have shared a house in Brick, N.J., after Miqueli paid $264,000 cash six years ago, according to the suit.

Miqueli, 53, was also accused of stealing money donated to fix a church pipe organ, siphoning funds from a parish thrift shop and getting high on drugs provided by a Bronx parishioner.

 The “master”, a bodybuilder and escort named Keith Crist, would not comment about his Catholic cash slave, but Crist’s “girlfriend on the side” told the NYDN that Crist injured his knees during bathtub shenanigans with Reverend Miqueli.

And NYC Cardinal Timothy Dolan is also named in the suit, which alleges he has tried to cover up the scandal:

Miqueli did not return a phone call seeking comment, instead alerting the Archdiocese of New York to speak on his behalf. Timothy Cardinal Dolan and the archdiocese are also named as defendants in the Manhattan court papers.

The lawsuit charges the church hierarchy, in an echo of the pedophilia scandal, with covering up for the pervert priest.

“We can’t understand it,” said Bronx parishioner Jack Lynch. “It seems they are going out of their way to protect him, and for years. We suspect a scandal behind the scandal.”

Miqueli allegedly stole church donations over a decade:

According to the complaint, Miqueli emptied the parish coffers by breaking the archdiocese’s rules governing donations and gifts. Money collected at Mass is supposed to go into a locked bag, stored in a safe, counted and logged by more than one trusted parishioner — and only then deposited in the church bank account. Miqueli instead stuffed all donations into unlocked bags that he counted personally in his bedroom — sometimes leaving foot-high stacks of cash lying around, according to the complaint.

Also, a Bronx doctor and church trustee gave Crist and Miqueli drugs in exchange for $60,000 the doctor used as down payment on a house. Miqueli also paid $1K /month for an apartment for Crist.

There is a Facebook page and website dedicated to Miqueli’s removal from the church.